Curtis Robbins

RESPONSE TO DIALOGUE ON DISABILITY POETRY*

I cannot tell you how appreciative I am after reading the Dialogue. In fact, I'm so speechless from the most astonishing revelations from the four women about disability poetry. Almost every page exploded with anecdotes that drew parallels so synonymous to Deaf poetry, but with only one very significant difference - reading to the public.

In all my years as a Deaf poet since I was 14 years old, I always assumed that anyone who is hearing could easily get their poems published. I was persistently rejected by every magazine and contest I submitted my works to. After reading the Dialogue, I came to realization that I was not alone! Indeed, I just crawled out of the tough Brazilian nut shell that finally cracked. It gave me a whole new outlook as a poet. It gave me so much more confidence to seek opportunities to publish. Funny thing, at the Deaf Writers Forum at Deaf Way II in 2002, a Deaf poet pointed out that writing poetry is only 30% of the job. The most important job is to market them for publication which is the other 70%. I never understood that from a business sense, but I was terribly hesitant to go over the boundaries - that is, publish only with Deaf-based publishers.

Unfortunately, I realized that Deaf poetry was reaching a significantly limited targeted readership. As evident in The Silent Muse (1960) which is the first literary anthology ever printed to show the works of Deaf writers. The truth of the matter is that it started as a small collection in early 20th century by a well-known Deaf educator whose dream was to publish the works of Deaf poets. When he passed away in the mid-1930's, the work was handed down to several others. The gist of the matter is: none of the poets published their works outright. Consequently, the editors had a tough time looking for those poets. In fact, several who did publish their works, had them done by the print shops in the different schools for the deaf as did the Silent Muse at Gallaudet print shop. Hence, they never reached the mainstream readers, or even the bookstore at Gallaudet University! On the other hand, John Lee Clark's book, Deaf American Poetry (2009), is making headways! It is gaining a wide spectrum of the readership. Thanks to Disability Studies and Deaf Studies programs in the colleges and universities.

Oddly, at Deaf Way II, every paid Deaf participant received a copy of The Deaf Way II Anthology (2002) in their welcome packet. Yet, I found every garbage receptacle at the convention center loaded with the discarded anthologies. I did it out of curiosity but I wasn't surprised, indeed. Only two people out of hundreds complimented me! Unfortunately, poetry and other literary works never quite made its mark in Deaf education - simply because the language of the arts were in a much higher plane than the level of language the Deaf children could achieve optimally. On the contrary, a lot of us who beat the odds, our readership always been essentially limited.

Today, for the Deaf poets to reach out has become an enigma in the profoundest sense! For centuries, it was to publish and gain the recognition. Now, poets are using computers to read their works on their blogs, YouTube, and whatnot. In fact, some contests are even starting to require oral recitations submitted on CDs. No papers needed! That sounds just like what Allen Ginsberg did all his years with the Beat poets! He never handed out paper copies of his poems to his friends. He gives them tape recordings of his readings. They would critique his work based on what they heard. Now, how can any Deaf poet do this? Most of us - even some of us who can speak - could never reach the hearing audiences. It is interesting to note that the four women mentioned that when they read aloud, they can determine the success or failure of the poem based on the reactions from the audience just like what Ginsberg did. BUT, our voices are not that typical. The audiences are not acclimated to our voices. Many of us would never speak with our voices because we know it will never work! Yet, the audiences don't even know American Sign Language. So, where does that leave us?

Thank you, Kathi, Patricia, Ona, and Linda! You just made my day!

(Editors Note: In the Spring 2009 issue of Wordgathering four poets, Linda Cronin, Ona Gritz, Patricia Wellingham-Jones, and Kathi Wolfe discussed their views on writing as women with disabilities. Curtis Robins' letter responds to that dialogue.)

 

Curtis Robbins was born in New York City and is a graduate of Gallaudet University where he taught for 10 years. Prior to his retirement in 2007, he taught American Sign Language and Deaf Culture for 40 years. Robbins has published several of his poems in The Tactile Mind, a publication focused on Deaf authors. His other poems also are found in three anthologies of works by Deaf writers and poets, No Walls of Stone (1982), The Deaf Way II Anthology (2002), and Deaf American Poetry (2009).